On 16 November, the Peruvian Ombudsman, Eduardo Vega, welcomed the verdict of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) on a case of the forced disappearance of 15 people in Santa Barbara, Ayacucho. The case, involving seven children, dates from July 1991, and involved members of the armed forces who took part in this operation.
“This is a terrible case that involves the responsibility of the state” Vega is reported as saying “not only as authors of such a dreadful crime as forced disappearance but also [because of] the lack of due diligence in providing the families involved with access to truth and justice over so many years”.
The IACHR has ordered Peru to investigate what happened, to punish those involved, to take steps to exhume the victims’ bodies, and to pay compensation to their families (among other reparations.
The IACHR also took note of the fact that the Peruvian government has a bill pending that would provide a legal framework to help people search for those who ‘disappeared’ in the 20 years leading up to 2000; dating from 2014, it has yet to be presented to Congress. Currently, it is only possible to demand the authorities to search for a disappeared person through taking legal action (a lengthy and costly route to remedy).
Backed by the IACHR’s sentence, the Defensoría has urged the government to adopt a comprehensive, multisectoral policy to deal with the problem of disappearances and exhumations.
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